


Five Times Rhodey Called Tony And The One Time He Got a Busy Signal

by Melethril



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bigotry & Prejudice, Friendship, Gen, Loyalty, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-25 17:34:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6204463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melethril/pseuds/Melethril
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People often asked him how he could possibly put up with Tony Stark; sure, there was no better person to party with than the eccentric billionaire, but to deal with the insufferable man on a daily basis and to play babysitter all the time? Impossible! Rhodey had to have the patient of a saint. Well, misinformation aside, this was why he did it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tony, this is James Rhodes, I just wanted to…

**Author's Note:**

> I love the friendship between Rhodey and Tony.  
> Most of the stories I have read were about Rhodey being Tony's rock; he is, no doubt about that - Pepper, Happy and Rhodey have saved the man's sanity and life multiple times, and he would not be the same without them.  
> However, they must get something in return, right (I'm not talking about money)? Nobody is that selfless. Rhodey clearly adores Tony, and I don't think he appreciates how people tend to view their friendship.
> 
> Therefore, these short stories are a collection of Tony being Rhodey's rock (and the one time he is unable to be just that).

James Rhodes was a bit nervous he had to admit. Yes, he knew Tony Stark was basically just a snotty little kid, but still, he was the son of a businessman with a multi-million dollar company. Standing at a bus station using a payphone to call a complete stranger in order to ask for a favor was already decidedly of the ‘not fun’ category, but if that person was the brat he suspected he was, well…

“Stark Residence, how may I help you?” a decidedly British voice sounded on the other end.

“Hi, this is James Rhodes, sir. I am Mr. Tony Stark’s future roommate at MIT, and I was just wondering whether it was possible to talk to him. I was given this number as contact information, so…” his voice faded out and he was anxiously waiting for a reply.

“Of course, Mr. Rhodes. Master Anthony is not here. He is still in Cambridge.”

“Please tell me it’s this Cambridge, not the one in England,” James sighed desperately.

That caused the other man to chuckle benignly, “Oh, you will get along well, Mr. Rhodes. No worries, he is in ‘this’ Cambridge, but most likely on his way to the airport. The flight will leave in two hours.”

_No._

He had to have said it out loud because the other man asked whether everything was alright.

“Yes, yes,” replied James. “I’m sorry, sir. So, there is no way for me to contact him.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Oh, there is, Mr. Rhodes,” came the reply. “Mr. Stark has a portable phone. Let me patch you through, sir. If you get a busy signal, please call again. Master Anthony has just installed the device a few weeks ago and I am still getting used to it. It was a pleasure talking to you. For future reference, my name is Edwin Jarvis. I am the head butler of the Stark family.”

“Uh, thanks, Mr. Jarvis, it was a pleasure talking to you.”

He was a bit confused, but decided to indulge the other man. Two seconds later, there was the distinct tone of dialing, which was followed by a cheerful, “Hi, Jarvis, what’s up? I’m on my way to the airport. I should be home soon.”

“Hi, Mr… Tony, this is James Rhodes, your future roommate at MIT. Mr. Jarvis kind of transferred the connection from his phone to you saying you had a portable phone or something.”

“Hi!” said Tony cheerfully, and his next words were full of enthusiasm, “Oh yes, I connected my cell to the house because it’s a waste of time for Jarvis to take messages when I might as well pick up the phone myself. I will soon be able to connect several phones, so that Jarvis can always directly patch callers through. It will save him a lot of time. Anyway, sorry, you were saying?”

Head still spinning, James paused for a second before continuing, “Well, see, I kind forgot my wallet and my keys in the apartment, and without being able to identify myself, I shouldn’t go near it.” Hell, showing up on campus without an ID card was probably a bad idea. His mother had often told him to be careful. What if Stark did not believe he was James Rhodes? He had left everything in the apartment, including his Air Force identification, which meant if he showed up at the base without it, there would be hell to pay. He might even be discharged! God, he had not even thought of that! He had just been so relieved to get the kid on the phone, but now that they were talking, he realized that this could go very badly for him. He could already see the headlines reaching from ‘Stark heir abducted by black man’ to ‘Disgraced Airman lures Stark heir into trap’ to much more insulting slurs. “You know what? Forget it, I’m sorry to have bothered you, I will find a way.”

“Hey, hey, hold your horses. Where are you? I’ll pick you up. Looking forward to meeting you anyway, and I’m sorry for not meeting you last week. I was asked to start next week to avoid the spotlight.”

That was hilarious given the boy had made headlines on the national news for coming to MIT at 14. Anyway, James gave him the address, they settled for a meeting point (the kid had a damn good memory explaining the position of a postbox to the last detail), and then he sat down to wait, all the while feeling like an idiot. The only thing that was missing to this scenario was pouring rain.

Twenty minutes later, a car pulled in and a young, scrawny and decidedly short boy stepped out of the backseat of the car. Of course, James recognized him immediately. He had seen the photos in the news after all. Out of the driver’s seat stepped a 6’8’’, athletic, strong man, who took one look at James, and straightened.

The kid babbled a mile a minute, “Thank you so much for bringing me, Mark! I hope it isn’t too much trouble. I can come by your shop while I’m at MIT, you know, looking at the engines. It would be fun, and like this, I can repay you for your help today.”

The man, Mark, tore his gaze away from James and looked at the kid with a smile, “Mr…” the kid opened his mouth, and he quickly continued, “Tony, you’ve already paid for that by working in my shop and getting the work of a week done in three hours including fixing that damn motor that was giving me headaches, but you’re more than welcome to come by.”

“Great! Thanks,” said the boy enthusiastically before he looked at James. “Hi, you must be Rhodey,” said he. “It’s great to meet you.”

“Rhodey? I’m James Rhodes,” he introduced himself, slightly overwhelmed by the overzealous kid. “Nice to meet you.” He offered his hand, which was quickly taken by the boy.

“Tony. It’s nice to meet you too, Rhodey.” There was a mischievous glimmer in the kid’s brown eyes and for some reason, James felt that this name would stick for a while. He did not mind.

“Come, let’s go to the apartment. I haven’t seen it yet, so it’s gonna be fun,” the kid then grabbed James’ arm and pulled him towards the car, but Mark quickly intersected by stepping in between them, thereby bringing reality back with an iron fist.

“Wait, Tony, you don’t seriously think this is your roommate, do you?” said the man incredulously, looking James up and down with a facial expression that James had seen a few times before and did not care for at all.

“Why not? He had my number, he called Jarvis, who seemed to trust him, I never would have received the call otherwise. He’s exactly where I told him to be, so why wouldn’t he be James Rhodes?” For a moment, James thought that the question was asked in utter innocence, but the boy positioned himself and there was a decidedly challenging glimmer in his eyes.

James would have never thought to feel instant respect and gratitude for a fourteen-year-old.

“I… He’s a…”

“Mark, finish that sentence, and you are on your own,” was the cold reply. Gone was the naivety and enthusiasm; this boy would be true to his word, and James (Rhodey, Tony had just called him) was speechless. He had done nothing to deserve any kind of loyalty.

“I’m sorry,” said the tall man, and – James had to give it to him – his apology seemed sincere and directed at him, not Tony. He then proceeded to drive them to MIT without complaint.

It seemed like Tony’s presence opened all kinds of doors, because nobody asked who they were when they finally arrived on campus (he had had to show his ID five times in one day, nobody asked for it now that he was with Tony). Once they were in their apartment, and James almost hugged his belongings in sheer relief. He apologized for the inconvenience and that Tony would probably miss his flight, which Tony just waved away as inconsequential.

“Also, thanks for what you said to your friend,” said Rhodey hesitatingly, after the boy finished calling Mr. Jarvis in order to organize another flight.

The Stark heir merely looked at him before he quoted earnestly, “’ _We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed_.’“

James was speechless. He had no idea what to reply.

Tony saw his stare and smiled almost shyly, “I don’t believe in God nor do I have much faith in humanity, but that is something I can stand behind.”

Somehow, the boy’s sincerity was heartwarming, and James had the strange feeling that he had just made a friend. After a week at MIT with hardly talking to anybody, feeling completely isolated, he felt home for the first time.


	2. Tones, I know you have this big board meeting coming up, but…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of James' relationships ends on a depressing note. Unfortunately, Tony was not at MIT to cheer him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaack.
> 
> At least in some manner. I apologize to the readers that prefer my Marvel stories, I have been distracted recently. You can blame Martin Freeman's John to Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock for this.
> 
> Anyway, I am currently trying to continue some of my WIP's and thought that some Rhodey&Tony friendship is perfect to start this endeavor.

**Tones, I know you have this big board meeting coming up, but…**

James felt numb. Andrea could have just told him that she was getting tired of him. He was well aware that he had not given her nearly as much attention as he should have, but that did not justify finding her cheating on him with William Corner, the biggest douchebag on the whole fucking campus. He knew if he hit that little asshole in the jaw, he would get court-martialed quicker than he could say ‘he stole my girlfriend’. He was trained for combat, while Corner was not, so apart from getting kicked out of the Air Force and MIT, he could very well face criminal charges. On the other hand, he was five foot seven and Corner was a good foot taller and part of the MIT Engineers. He could get in serious trouble and get his ass kicked at the same time. Frustrated, angry and humiliated, he left the dorm. He had thought… They had been having problems, but he had still thought they could work through it all. Barely outside, he was faced with the last people he wanted to see: Corner’s friends (not teammates; there were quite a few cadets on the team). Some sneered, almost all looked ready for a fight.

“If that isn’t our good little toy soldier,” cackled Speers, a particularly annoying human being whose rich parents had likely paid for his acceptance at MIT because it sure as hell had not been his outstanding intellect.

Anyway, Mama Rhodes had raised him well (and warned him not to piss off rich, white kids before he came to MIT), and he simply ducked his head and walked away; or tried to, but they blocked his way.

“Gonna slip away to lick your wounds… since you will miss licking something else?” Speers continued and James’ jaw clenched.

“I’m an airman,” he stated calmly, standing ramrod straight (though he was still more than seven inches shorter than his adversary). “Now will you please let me pass? I am late.”

“You really thought she had a thing for you, didn’t you?” Speers just continued, and James mentally counted to twenty ( _“Integrity First. Service Before Self. Excellence in All We Do. Mind and Hand.”- “Mind your hands and don’t blow shit up is what they wanted to say, I think.” Damn it, Tony!_ ). He was well-practiced in the art. There were always anti-military movements on campus (though mostly peaceful, sometimes incredibly insulting, especially around Tony who more and more had this tendency to smile a very broad, fake smile [ _Fake it ‘til you make it, Rhodey_ ]), so he was used to being insulted, spit on, sprayed with paint (most of which he had learned to keep secret from Tony after he had verbally taken apart one of the assailants in their next class, which had nearly driven said attacker to tears in front of everyone). Still, sometimes it was hard, like today.

“I don’t think so, airhead.”

God, this was way too easy. “Wow, are we now back in primary school territory? I haven’t dealt with an insult this bad since… third grade. Will you now excuse me?”

One hour later, bloody and humiliated, and after getting screamed at by his commander (though half-heartedly because, yes, Speers had broken his hand because James ducked in time, but the airman had not lifted a finger to harm the rich brat), he was back in his room, thinking about whom to call. He could not call Mama Rhodes because she had liked Andrea, and would be sad to hear that their relationship had not panned out (and ended quite catastrophically). To be honest, he did not _want_ to call her. However, he wished to call a seventeen-year-old cheeky genius who was currently in New York preparing for his first board meeting with his father’s company. The normally self-assured boy had nervously prepared for this meeting for months.

Putting an icepack on his slowly forming black eye, he contemplated but decided to call nevertheless. After all, the meeting was tomorrow, and Tony might appreciate the distraction.

It rang less than three times until a cheerful “Hi, honeybear. What’s up?” sounded from the other side.

“Hi Tones, I know you have this big board meeting coming up, but I…” he stopped. He really should not do this.

“Everything okay?”

Great, now he was worrying Tony.

“Andrea and I, we broke up,” he blurted out.

“Oh, I’m sorry platypus. I knew there has been some tension, but I was convinced you’d work through it.”

Why could he not swallow that lump in his throat?

“Yeah, so did I,” after coughing slightly.

“Wait, _she_ broke up with you?” it was kind of comforting to hear his adopted little brother’s outrage, but instead of chuckling, a noise escaped his mouth that sounded a bit more desperate than intended.

“Nope, I did. After I found her with William fucking Corner,” he bitterly admitted, utterly ashamed of saying that out loud.

There was silence on the other side of the line.

“Tones?”

“I’m here, Rhodey. I’m just trying to wrap my head around the utter stupidity of what Andrea did. I _liked_ her. I don’t like stupid people.” Tony sounded angry and just the right amount of flabbergasted making James smile.

“You can still be friends with her after this, Tones, you always got along really well.” Better than with Rhonda, at least, whom he had broken up with because she had not been able to accept his roommate/friend/little brother.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, I…”

_‘Mr. Stark, your father has asked for your presence in meeting room.’_ An unknown voice interrupted Tony’s reply.

“Shit!” James exclaimed, regretting this call immediately. “I’m sorry. You focus on your meeting, I’m sorry to have bothered you. I see you on Monday. We’ll talk then. Bye!”

Quickly, he hung up. Tony had been looking forward to this for months. He should not needlessly distract the young man. Now he was back in their room, alone. He should probably leave and meet up with some of his fellow airmen, but he quickly realized that he could stomach the thought of doing so. He did not feel like joking around and talking about Andrea was not an option. Furthermore, he was now sporting bruises on his face, and he really did not feel like being questioned.

* * *

It had to be close to midnight when he practically leaped from the couch after hearing the door open. He had to have fallen asleep. Breathing heavily, he stood up, not knowing what to expect, only to be faced with a grinning, 1.5 inch taller ( _Damn it, Tony, couldn’t you have stayed that little runt you were two years ago?_ ) teenager. In his arms were the biggest pizza box he had ever seen and a six-pack with beer, the latter of which James did not want to know how he had acquired.

“New York’s best pizza! Angelo specifically made it for me. Come on, it’s getting cold.”

“Tony, your board…”

“Yes, bored, boring, who the hell cares? Come on, platypus, let’s eat! And drink, definitely drink.”

James grabbed the six-pack, “Yes, exactly, you must be exhausted. There is coke in the fridge for you.”

All the whining did not deter James from handing over the beer to the underage kid. Once his complaints ( _this is unfair, you hear me? Unfairest of unfair! I brought it, I should be able to drink it_ ) stopped, Tony babbled about his projects, New York, Maria Stark, Obie, Jarvis’ helpfulness in getting him on a private plane with a large pizza. As he sat there enjoying the presence of his friend, he finally felt himself relax.

He would miss Andrea, but he would exchange a hundred dates with her for one night like this one in a heartbeat. Life simply did not seem as painful and complicated with Tony Stark by his side.

He did not even notice that Tony expertly obtained all the names of the people who had hurt him that day. He did notice when the pranks started, though. James asked him to stop… After Corner’s shampoo had magically dyed his hair in admittedly impressive rainbow colors and Speers’ dad had been informed that Speers had depleted his trust fund and was now leeching off his company while failing every single class.

There was never a dull moment with Tony Stark by your side and James would not want to miss it for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Short personal comment: I watched the Civil War Honest Trailer… And while I liked it, I got a bit testy at one of the things said in that trailer.  
> No consequences, really? Rhodey is paralyzed! The problems of the accords has not disappeared in thin air. The Avengers are broken… Just because none of the main characters died, does not mean that there will be no consequences. Also, Captain America and his image is gone. Steve and Bucky killed people in this (or permanently injured them) - when those police officers came to arrest Bucky and they fought their way out and through that tunnel; this will have consequences, or it really should have.

**Author's Note:**

> Are you interested in the other chapters?


End file.
